I will admit I was not looking forward to this project as I kind of detest tempeh (at least store bought) and I have been traumatized from all the times I forced myself to eat it when I was a vegetarian. I kept an open mind though and enjoyed the taste of home fermented tempeh more than I thought I would. It was really good and definitely better than conventional tempeh. I don’t think it will be a ferment I keep in my rotation, but I am still glad to have experienced the tedious and Zen-like process of making it and can appreciate the labor of love and patience that goes into it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of black eye peas

1 tbsp vinegar (white distilled)

½ packet of tempeh inoculant

Date Prepared: November 25, 2017

Date Harvested:
November 28, 2017

Length of Ferment: 66 hours

Notes:

I soaked black eye peas for 10 hours and dehulled them. I cooked them for around 10 minutes on a low rolling boil. Since all the beans were split in half when the hulls were being removed, I reduced the cooking time to avoid mushy beans.

I strained the beans and allowed them to dry between towels. I finished drying them off by using a hair dryer to evaporate off the last of the liquid and make sure beans were warm for inoculation. I added the vinegar and tossed until evenly covered and mixed in the tempeh starter culture from Cultures for Health.

I poked holes in a quart sized zip lock freezer bag and filled it with the inoculated beans. I placed it in my oven with a heat mat on the lower rack and the beans on the higher rack next to the oven light. I was able to maintain the temperature range of 90-100º for the most part. It did drop to 85º during the cooler part of the night/early morning but not for very long.

The white mycelium coating was noticeable at 24-hours but I noticed some brown spots after 2 days of fermenting. After 66-hours, the tempeh was finished. It fermented into a nice, thin and firm bean patty. I just cut off the brown spots and cooked up the good sections in a rice and veggie stir fry.

The tempeh did taste much better than I expected and remembered from my vegetarian days. It had a nutty and mildly earthy smell and flavor. It wasn’t my favorite ferment and if I make it again, I will do it during the summer months when it will be easier to maintain the ideal temperature range, or I will wait until I invest in a dehydrator with a lower setting.

Modifications/Troubleshooting:

As it was fermenting, I noticed a few brown spots which formed in the places where I stuck the thermometer to gage the temperature and make sure it was not getting too hot. I just cut off the brown spots and cooked up the rest of the tempeh.

What Would I Do/Try Differently Next Time:

In the future, I will only test the temperature of the environment and won’t pierce the bag as I am very certain that is what caused the browning to occur. I will also work on creating a better chamber to ferment it in, possibly an ice chest with a heat mat or lamp with a fan for better air circulation. It was a little inconvenient going so long without being able to use my oven.

I will also avoid smashing the beans as much as I did when I was shaping them to the bag to maintain more of a whole bean consistency in the finished tempeh.

Beans tossed in vinegar and ready to be inoculated with a tempeh starter culture

Ready to ferment in the oven with a heat mat and light on to maintain ideal 95º temperature

White mycelium coating at 24 hours of fermenting

Brown spots forming after 2 days

66 hours of fermenting and I have a nice thin and solid fermented bean patty (tempeh)

I cut off the good sections, discarding the brown spots and cooked it up

We have been craving some Mongolian style beef stir fry so I figured I would use tempeh instead of meet for our dinner.

I pan seared the tempeh in coconut oil with onion, burdock sticks and carrot slices. Once the tempeh was brown on both sides and onions were caramelized, I added in zucchini, chard and the sauce, covered and allowed it to simmer for 10 minutes on low.

Served over rice (see image above)

It was delicious!!

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